Ernst Fehr is named foreign honorary member of the American Economic Association

The American Economic Association only appoints a very limited number of foreign economists as honorary members. Ernst Fehr, Professor at the University of Zurich, is the first scientist in Switzerland to be granted this honor. Prof. Ernst Fehr received this award in recognition of his life’s work.

Fehr is an advocate of behavioral economics and one of the founders of neuroeconomics. His research ranges into the areas of psychology, sociology, biology, and neuroscience. Thanks to his research, the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich is now one of the leading global centers in experimental economic research. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung ranked Fehr first in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria in the list of the most influential economists in the German language area in in 2016.

His research examines altruism and the associations between social preferences and norms in daily and in strategic interactions. He has completed comprehensive studies on the effects of people’s social motivations and their willingness to cooperate. He is presently examining the neurobiological foundations of social and economic behavior. His work is characterized by the combination of game theoretical and experimental methods. Together with knowledge from social psychology, sociology, biology, and neuroscience, his work leads to a better understanding of human social behavior.